Portugal

THE INDUSTRIAL SECTOR

Figure 8. Economic Activity, 1992

Petroleum refinery near Lisbon
Courtesy General Directorate of Mass Communication, Lisbon

Cement factory in the Estremadura region
Courtesy General Directorate of Mass Communication, Lisbon

The growth of Portugal's industrial sector since the revolution was less dynamic than in the 1960-73 period. In this later period, growth was strongly affected by a number of major events, both domestic and external: the two oil price hikes, the nationalizations of 1975-76, and the country's accession to the EC. Nevertheless, Portugal's industrial production grew at a respectable 4.8 percent annual rate during the 1980-89 decade, leading GDP growth (2.7 percent annually). The overall industrial index advanced 43 percent between 1980 and 1989, with significant divergence in the growth rates among the subsectors of manufacturing (39 percent); electricity, gas, and water (74 percent); and mining (74 percent). Mining output was stagnant from 1980 to 1988, but in the following year it surged by 74 percent as the Neves Castro copper mine went into operation. Manufacturing, the largest component of the industrial sector, also showed marked growth differences among the several branches. Lumber and cork products, a traditional rural-based industry, declined by 26 percent during the decade; on the other hand, paper (75 percent), chemicals and plastics products (97 percent), and nonmetallic mineral products (65 percent) led the advance in manufacturing.

Data as of January 1993